Yes...NO... Wait... Maybe

Amazing how perspective changes with age. In the mid fifties I was in the sixth grade. We all had to take a little government. My teacher for some unknown reason decided to teach us all about the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States Of America.

One of the first lessons was about how our forefathers came here looking for religious freedom. They wanted religious freedom so bad, they wrote it into the foundation of our country’s paperwork. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,…” This is the first amendment to the constitution of the United States. Later on in school I learned of the Salem witch hunts. I was treated to drawings in our history books of people being burned at the stake because someone thought they had a different “religion”. Somehow the two thoughts together did not make sense to me. Now, in the twenty first century it still does not make sense. I see that the Mormons, by law, cannot practice their religion as indicated by their holy book. The Muslim faith likewise cannot practice their religion as dictated by their holy book. In some places here in the United States snake handling is required by those that practice that particular brand of faith. It too is against the law. In some faiths it is mandatory to sacrifice a lamb or goat to God. In the city of Fort Worth, Texas is against the law to butcher an animal in your home or back yard. Whatever happened to “…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”?

Our second lesson was about how real property cannot be taken from you in the United States. We were treated to examples of people in Russia and Mexico not being able to purchase real property. We were shown how in Mexico the land belonged to “he that worked the land”. In other words, the land was given to the person that could make the land produce more. We were told in that in communist countries the government could just walk in and take your house and land whenever it wanted. We were taught that that could never happen here in the United States of America. But then later we were treated to the great railroad expansion era. Vast amounts of land were taken from ranchers and given to the railroad companies. In 1967 an entire neighborhood in San Antonio Texas was taken over by the City for its 1968 Worlds Fair. Just last year in Arlington Texas an entire neighborhood was taken from the citizens of this great democracy and given to the Dallas Cowboys Football Team. The City was able to do this because the land was more valuable as a football stadium than a middle class neighborhood. Each and every time the powers that be claim that just compensation is paid for the land. How is just compensation defined? Generally accepted principals of accounting define just compensation as the agreed upon value “between a willing seller and a willing buyer”. Most of the citizens in these situations were not willing sellers. Their property was taken anyway. Whatever happened to the fifth amendment that says in part “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

I am an American Citizen. I love my country. I hate the fact that power hungry politicians have taken away most of our rights. Our present President has by threat and intimation, and through his cowardly fear of terrorist taken many of our most sacred rights. This is the year we elect a new President. MAKE IT COUNT. Do not be intimidated. Ask the candidates their thoughts on the above issues. Ask about any issue you have a concern over. Its time for a new revolution. A voting revolution. You have my permission to email this article to any of the candidates.